EulerBernoulli beam theory

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This vibrating glass beam may be modeled as a cantilever beam with acceleration, variable linear density,
variable section modulus, some kind of dissipation, springy end loading, and possibly a point mass at the
free end.
EulerBernoulli beam theory (also known as engineer's beam theory or classical beam
theory)[1] is a simplification of the linear theory of elasticity which provides a means of calculating
the load-carrying and deflection characteristics of beams. It covers the case for small deflections
of a beam that are subjected to lateral loads only. It is thus a special case of Timoshenko beam
theory. It was first enunciated circa 1750,[2] but was not applied on a large scale until the
development of the Eiffel Tower and the Ferris wheel in the late 19th century. Following these
successful demonstrations, it quickly became a cornerstone of engineering and an enabler of
the Second Industrial Revolution.
Additional analysis tools have been developed such as plate theory and finite element analysis,
but the simplicity of beam theory makes it an important tool in the sciences,
especially structural and mechanical engineering.

Contents
[hide]

1History
2Static beam equation
o 2.1Derivation of bending moment equation
3Dynamic beam equation
o 3.1Free vibration
3.1.1Example: Cantilevered beam
3.1.2Example: unsupported (free-free) beam
4Stress
o 4.1Simple or symmetrical bending
o 4.2Maximum stresses at a cross-section
o 4.3Strain in an EulerBernoulli beam
o 4.4Relation between curvature and beam deflection
o 4.5Stress-strain relations
 5Boundary considerations
6Loading considerations
7Examples
o 7.1Three-point bending
o 7.2Cantilever beams
o 7.3Statically indeterminate beams
8Extensions
o 8.1Large deflections
9See also
10Notes
11References
12External links

History[edit]

Schematic of cross-section of a bent beam showing the neutral axis.

Prevailing consensus is that Galileo Galilei made the first attempts at developing a theory of
beams, but recent studies argue that Leonardo da Vinci was the first to make the crucial
observations. Da Vinci lacked Hooke's law and calculus to complete the theory, whereas Galileo
was held back by an incorrect assumption he made.[3]
The Bernoulli beam is named after Jacob Bernoulli, who made the significant
discoveries. Leonhard Euler and Daniel Bernoulli were the first to put together a useful theory
circa 1750.[4] At the time, science and engineering were generally seen as very distinct fields, and
there was considerable doubt that a mathematical product of academia could be trusted for
practical safety applications. Bridges and buildings continued to be designed by precedent until
the late 19th century, when the Eiffel Tower and Ferris wheel demonstrated the validity of the
theory on large scales.

Static beam equation[edit]

The EulerBernoulli equation describes the relationship between the beam's deflection and the
applied load:[5]

The curve describes the deflection of the beam in the direction at some

position (recall that the beam is modeled as a one-dimensional object). is a

distributed load, in other words a force per unit length (analogous to pressure being a force

per area); it may be a function of , , or other variables.

Note that is the elastic modulus and that is the second moment of area of the

beam's cross-section. must be calculated with respect to the axis which passes
through the centroid of the cross-section and which is perpendicular to the applied loading.[N
1]
Explicitly, for a beam whose axis is oriented along x with a loading along z, the beam's
cross-section is in the yz plane, and the relevant second moment of area is

where it is assumed that the centroid of the cross-section occurs at y = z = 0.

Often, the product EI (known as the flexural rigidity) is a constant, so that

This equation, describing the deflection of a uniform, static beam, is used widely in

engineering practice. Tabulated expressions for the deflection for common

beam configurations can be found in engineering handbooks. For more complicated
situations the deflection can be determined by solving the EulerBernoulli equation
using techniques such as the "slope deflection method", "moment distribution
method", "moment area method, "conjugate beam method", "the principle of virtual
work", "direct integration", "Castigliano's method", "Macaulay's method" or the "direct
stiffness method".

Sign conventions are defined here since different conventions can be found in the
literature.[5] In this article, a right handed coordinate system is used as shown in the
figure, Bending of an EulerBernoulli beam. In this figure, the x and z direction of a

right handed coordinate system are shown. Since where , ,

and are unit vectors in the direction of the x, y, and z axes respectively, the y

axis direction is into the figure. Forces acting in the positive and

directions are assumed positive. The sign of the bending moment is positive
when the torque vector associated with the bending moment on the right hand side

of the section is in the positive y direction (i.e. so that a positive value of leads
to a compressive stress at the bottom fibers). With this choice of bending moment

sign convention, in order to have , it is necessary that the shear force

acting on the right side of the section be positive in the z direction so as to achieve

static equilibrium of moments. To have force equilibrium with , q, the loading

intensity must be positive in the minus z direction. In addition to these sign
conventions for scalar quantities, we also sometimes use vectors in which the
directions of the vectors is made clear through the use of the unit vectors,

, , and .
Successive derivatives of the deflection w have important physical meanings:
dw/dx is the slope of the beam,

is the bending moment in the beam, and

is the shear force in the beam.

Bending of an EulerBernoulli beam. Each cross-section of the beam is at 90

degrees to the neutral axis.
The stresses in a beam can be calculated from the above expressions after
the deflection due to a given load has been determined.
Derivation of bending moment equation[edit]
Because of the fundamental importance of the bending moment equation in
engineering, we will provide a short derivation. The length of the neutral axis

in the figure, Bending of an EulerBernoulli beam, is The length of a

fiber with a radial distance, , below the neutral axis is Therefore

the strain of this fiber is

The stress of this fiber is where E is the elastic modulus in

accordance with Hooke's Law. The differential force

vector, resulting from this stress is given by,

This is the differential force vector exerted on the right hand side of
the section shown in the figure. We know that it is in

the direction since the figure clearly shows that the fibers in

the lower half are in tension. is the differential element of area

at the location of the fiber. The differential bending moment

vector, associated with is given by

This expression is valid for the fibers in the lower half of the
beam. The expression for the fibers in the upper half of the
beam will be similar except that the moment arm vector will be
in the positive z direction and the force vector will be in the -x
direction since the upper fibers are in compression. But the
resulting bending moment vector will still be in the -y direction

since Therefore we integrate over the entire cross section

of the beam and get for the bending moment vector

exerted on the right cross section of the beam the expression

where is the second moment of area. From calculus,

we know that when is small as it is for an Euler

Bernoulli beam, ( is the radius of curvature).

Therefore

Dynamic beam equation[edit]

Finite element method model of a vibration of a wide-flange

beam (I-beam).
The dynamic beam equation is the EulerLagrange
equation for the following action
 The first term represents the kinetic energy

where is the mass per unit length; the second

one represents the potential energy due to internal
forces (when considered with a negative sign) and
the third term represents the potential energy due

to the external load . The EulerLagrange

equation is used to determine the function that

minimizes the functional . For a dynamic

EulerBernoulli beam, the EulerLagrange
equation is

[show]Derivation of EulerLagrange equation for beams

When the beam is

homogeneous, and are

independent of , and the beam

equation is simpler: